Meet Our Industry Leaders
Biographical stories of their rise and passion
Mark Wahlberg approached HBO to make a film about Mickey Ward, and HBO already had footage of the real fights. I worked on the two fight scenes—Wahlberg trained for two years, choreographed the bouts himself, and insisted on shooting them exactly as they happened, using older cameras and a broadcast-style rig (two mains, handhelds, apron and overhead robotic) for an authentic look; I was thrilled to spot my footage in the final film.
Why recreate a rehearsal-hall mood for a Ray Charles–style piano performance? The team confirmed objectives with the producer, dressed a gray acoustic-matted studio with equipment boxes and a blue backlight wash, and used a 20x20 silk with a 5K behind it to give a soft, hotspot-free glow on the shiny black piano. Supplementary lighting (an additional 5K, several 2Ks, and about two dozen strip lights) plus a two-seam preset control console and a 96-portable dimmer rack keyed the backdrop and soloist while the blue wash and backlight sold the rehearsal-hall feel.
Robert "Kool" Bell shares his post-high school journey, emphasizing the importance of showmanship gained from performing at iconic venues like the Apollo Theater. He discusses their band's (Kool and the Gang) evolution through various musical trends, including the punk movement and disco backlash, while touring with major acts like the Jacksons. With JT Taylor, they found success in the 1980s, and after his departure, they sought to reinvent themselves in the 1990s, expanding their tours to Eastern Europe and Cuba, where they were warmly received by audiences.
A special-effects firm supplying pyrotechnics, lasers and confetti produces the Giants’ player intros and other major shows, including WWE/WrestleMania. The client supplied the concept; the company executes it using cryogenic “cryo” jets combined with pyro for player entrances, staged from eight roof locations for near-360° coverage. An addressable, programmable firing system with 16-output control modules will run roughly 900 shunted devices—supporting chases, individual or simultaneous firing—for the national anthem and intro. Strict safety protocols are emphasized: devices ship shunted and require careful handling because all pyrotechnics can cause injury if mishandled.
Stage managers organize, schedule, and coordinate mounting a show, using the script as the definitive reference and maintaining a prompt book that lists all cues and actions in the designers' sequence. They track blocking and performer positions and record/execute technical cues—lighting, scenic movements, sound, props—timed to spoken lines or to musical beats, using techniques like counting subdivisions or placing cues on written notes. Their precision ensures scenery, lights, and sound happen exactly as designed (for example, Carousel’s opening used cues tied to written musical notes).
Holly's "swinging" moment sparks a reaction—George answers with a "boom, boom" cue, a beat lands "at the rig" and an organ chimes as Dennis asks, "Hey, hey, hey, what'd you got to say?" Frankie Crock's radio line "Hollywood swinging" becomes the song's head. The Gang explains reworking a John Philip Sousa–style melody with Riverside-style funk to avoid copyright, noting several parts of the original recording are inaudible.
An assistant cameraman’s journey from school connections to a 14-year career as a 1st AC, detailing key duties—building cameras, loading film magazines, cleaning the film gate, and pulling focus by pre-measuring distances and monitoring lens and subject peripherally. Challenges include cluttered, high-energy sets where lighting and depth of field help hide missed marks; film is unforgiving, so mistakes show on playback, force reshoots, and make consistent technical accuracy essential for career survival.
Puppeteers draw inspiration from many sources and use their whole bodies to convey character, with the art room focused on early concept work—breaking down designs for characters, miniatures, environments, and set pieces (like a pizzeria’s interior and exterior). A full-service scenic shop fabricates non-puppet elements, handles makeup and prep, and stages large modular sets on Studio B’s 70×40 monster-ready stage, enabling the company to realize ideas across TV, film, stage, live events, and other media.
From a history and teaching background and early internships at WTVJ, he moved from freelance and CBS archival work to join CNN during its early 24-hour expansion, navigating high-pressure breaking news before shifting to long-form sports features. Recruited by David Stern to build NBA Entertainment from a tiny team, he produced landmark programming—including the 1992 Dream Team special and extensive Olympic access—and later joined the New York Giants, crediting success to hard work, curiosity, and making himself indispensable.
Raised on a Michigan farm, she learned performing and entrepreneurship early—selling produce as a child—and moved to New York to pursue acting and singing while teaching, guided by the motto “occupy your dream.” After a one-hour variety show called Soul and encouragement from Sesame Street set decorator Charlie Rosen, she auditioned despite not fitting the Joan Baez–style expectation: sporting an Angela Davis–style look and no guitar, she improvised with “I’m a Little Teapot,” won the kids over, and launched her career. She now uses that story to teach kids confidence, improvisation, and creating their own opportunities.
Remote robotic camera operator for the State of the Union, using a joystick and focus ring to capture broadcast-quality shots from a small, low-profile camera positioned behind the president. Primary duty is to instantly and accurately shoot reaction shots of House members, senators, Supreme Court justices and cabinet when mentioned—anticipating framing without the speech text and responding to cues from a cabinet liaison and director—while working on a specialized crew for high-profile political events and major funerals.
A mission-driven cinematographer who personally operates camera, rigs dollies and cranes, and directs crew with precise technical instructions while prioritizing lighting and composition and protecting the image through exposure, DIT, lab work, and color grading. Works collaboratively to accomplish the impossible under tight budgets and time limits—exemplified by Desert Flower in Djibouti, where 130°F heat, extreme contrast, and transport problems required 18K eye lights, cranes, generators, and elaborate grip setups. Advocates for a highly critical, detail-focused approach to cinematography as both craft and art.
A radio producer outlines core duties—running the shop, prepping hosts, vetting guests, screening calls and monitoring breaking news—and explains how early regional sports talk led to the need for native New York voices in afternoon drive. After joining Sirius at about 250,000 subscribers, Steve applied a philosophy of expert-driven sports talk (former players, coaches, GMs, scouts) over loud opinion, launching a top NFL channel and shows meant to make listeners smarter. He also highlights strong live-event promotion and cross-channel appearances, from standing-room-only draft events to recent show debuts like Lang.
Early monophonic synths forced him to master manual patching, signal flow and synthesis theory—skills he says translate directly to modern synths and software. While touring with Cyndi Lauper he recreated dense studio keyboard parts live using a rig (Korg CX‑3 through a Leslie, Yamaha DX7, string and ARP‑style synths) plus early controllers and MEP‑4 processors to handle program changes, zone mapping and patch recall so one player could perform many layered parts.
Live shows have moved from tiny PAs and no onstage monitors to Yamaha consoles, SD-based show files, compact playback boxes, advanced monitor/side-fill systems and video/LED walls. Typical days start with an 8–9 AM load-in for an 8 PM show, using about 20 crew (two truck loaders, a 53' tractor-trailer) and often the venue’s stage/rig; local musicians are hired for a ~3-hour midday rehearsal. Doors open ~7 PM with pre-show music, the main set runs 8–10:00/10:15 PM followed by a meet-and-greet, then back to the hotel by midnight and travel to the next city.
Joe Scacciaferro, president and founder of Ferro Productions, outlines a long-term intern program that treats interns as partners and fully integrates them into the production crew to perform real tasks—camera, audio, editing, media handling, and on-set responsibilities—so they gain meaningful skills and on-air credits within weeks. With approachable mentors, a low-intimidation environment, and a strong track record of alumni who stay or move on successfully, the company is committed to keeping the program and leaving interns industry-ready and confident.
Longtime touring musician with Billy Joel describes the band’s live, spontaneous approach—Billy often calls songs they’ve never played, forcing on-the-spot arranging, improvisation, and an embrace of mistakes. A Shea Stadium highlight features guest stars including Tony Bennett and a last‑minute Paul McCartney, where the band prepped "I Saw Her Standing There" and improvised in real time—following Paul’s chords, adding a B3 and cathedral‑organ middle, and borrowing a sound from "Captain Jack"—to pull off an exhilarating, high‑stakes performance for 60,000+.
NFL 2012 Opening Day highlights include Queen Latifah performing the National Anthem (audio partly inaudible) and Travie McCoy of Gym Class Heroes headlining halftime (audio partly inaudible). Clair Brothers, working with the stadium’s PA, delivered the front-of-house mix for roughly 82,000 fans and custom stage monitor mixes via a compact, powerful setup, with engineers rehearsing into a rainy night to produce a seamless, effortless show.
A company that makes signs, broadcast sets, and exhibits shows how overlapping skills fuel creative, dimensional work. After a designer routed raised letters on a basic ESPN sign, the client returned for broadcast desks and studio components styled like exhibits. Large scenic elements are fabricated as high-quality, modular sections for easy transport, highlighting the benefits—and challenges—of a highly diversified, dimension-focused approach.
A four-stage tribute honors the Giants’ last four Super Bowl wins, featuring a mappable “jar rag” picture surface that displays “Giants,” player names and other graphics for each championship team. Dynamic lighting and effects — beam lights, smoke, a high-output Shogun projecting a custom Super Bowl trophy logo, and two-color LED deck fixtures that shift red/white/blue with individually mappable bulbs for text — are optimized for stadium cameras and blimp shots, with planned name projections for talent like Phil Simms. NBC initiated the concept; roughly six people designed the deck with two days of pre-programming, while load/unload and execution require 46 stagehands (about 25 man-hours each over the next two days) and an overall estimate of 2–3 weeks and ~2,000 man-hours; tight nine-minute transitions and outdoor weather risks are key operational considerations.
Curt Gowdy Jr. invited the Jack to the Aqueduct in NYC to capture start-gate sounds missing from TV, prompting a custom audio harness: level mics mounted to the gate superstructure with seven XLRs, Y-corded to an M-67 pocket mixer and sent wirelessly so the gate stayed unwired and horses weren’t spooked. The mics were premixed to emphasize hinge creaks, gate mechanics, the bell and horses launching, producing start-gate audio previously unavailable on broadcasts. For figure skating, inexpensive Radio Shack PZMs were painted and taped into rink corners to boost blade-on-ice sound (later reduced to avoid masking announcers). Both low-profile mic innovations expanded live-sports sound detail for national coverage.
Lifelong hip-hop fan (about 25 years) who started writing to tell his story and draw friends in, he builds songs around beats that "speak" and suggest themes. He turns relatable everyday moments into vivid, metaphor-rich lyrics across three styles—club/uptempo tracks, softer songs about his daughter (often with sung choruses), and short, intense 2–3 minute storytelling pieces with little or no chorus—keeping a distinct voice rather than chasing radio. New music and videos are released on horseisbrooklyn.com.
Jamie started shooting at ages 13–14 and developed strong camera instincts through hands-on fieldwork and college TV production experience. Focuses on camera work, production directing, and editing—analyzing placement and intended final look to shape a personal creative vision, continually learning on set and driven by passion to move into directing while staying closely involved with the camera.
